Previous Book events: 2014-2024
June 2024
Saturday 22: Suffragettes and Slaves: Votes for Women in Halifax. 11.30-3.30.
A 4-hour Calderdale Heritage walk from Skircoat Green across Savile Park, visiting the homes of Halifax's own 'nest of suffragettes'. Our route goes along Queens Road and down Pellon Lane to the Mechanics' Institute where in 1911 Emmeline Pankhurst urged women to boycott the census.
Meet Jill Liddington and David Glover (President, Halifax Antiquarians) at the Standard of Freedom, New Lane, HX3 0TE. Please bring packed lunch and drink. After a cup of tea and Q&A in Halifax, we return to Skircoat Green by bus about 3.30 pm.
Tickets here (£6): Pre-booking essential.
Thursday 27: Lavena Saltonstall: local tailoress turned suffragette. 7-8.30 pm.
Lavena Saltonstall was born in 1881 in the valley below Heptonstall; and around her tenth birthday she became a half-time tailoress in a Hebden Bridge clothing factory. Then in 1906 Lavena got caught up in the dramatic swirl of labour and suffrage politics. She moved to Halifax and here, along with other local suffragettes, she went down to Westminster, was arrested and sentenced to 14 days.
She also wrote about the stultifying expectations of Edwardian women: 'As I am a tailoress many people think it is my bounded duty to make trousers and vests…and thank God for my station in life… The exceptions are considered unwomanly and eccentric people'. Yet, despite her compelling writings, Lavena remained virtually forgotten - till Rebel Girls (2006 Virago).
Heptonstall Museum, organized by Friends of Heptonstall Museum, Church Yard Bottom, Heptonstall HX7 7PL. Book stall and book-signing; proceeds to the Museum.
Tickets and more info here - £5 for non-members.
July 2024
Tuesday 9: As Good As A Marriage - paperback edition, Manchester University Press £18.99. Pre-order here
Thursday 11: As Good As A Marriage.
Lunchtime book-signing session, 12.30 – 1.30, the Book Corner, Halifax Piece Hall, HX1 1RE. Come along to meet the author and have your book signed. Hope to see you there!
Saturday 13: Anne Lister: what she inherited and what she bequeathed.
10.30. A short Calderdale Heritage walk round the Shibden estate nearest to the Hall. Judge for yourself how Anne Lister transformed her inheritance – and how her legacy subsequently benefitted Calderdale.
Meet Jill Liddington at the Shibden Hall front entrance (by the blue plaque) at 10.30. This circular walk ends at noon. Then you have a choice: either to browse the Shibden bookshop, enjoy a cup of tea and Q&A; or explore inside the magnificent Hall (for which you should pre-book your ticket).
Tickets here (£6) Pre-booking essential.
March 2024
20 Wednesday: Was Anne Lister a pioneer feminist or 'at heart nothing but an old Tory squire'? The Women's Library, LSE, London, 6 pm - 8 pm.
This was how Virginia Woolf saw Vita Sackville-West at grand Sissinghurst in the 1930s. Yet were these words also equally appropriate for Anne Lister of Shibden Hall, Halifax?
Anne and her magnificent diaries came to global attention with Sally Wainwright's 'Gentleman Jack' drama (BBC1/HBO, 2019 & 2022). Anne, who had inherited the Shibden Hall estate, was a woman of extraordinary achievements: travel and mountaineering, social networking and intellectual range. Yet her outstanding achievement was undoubtedly her five-million-word diaries, recognized by UNESCO's UK Memory of the World register in 2011.
Right: Anne Lister statue in Halifax Piece Hall.
About one-sixth of the diaries was written in Anne's secret code, allowing us to eavesdrop into the intimate detail of her romantic & sexual affairs with other women. In 1834 she 'married' shy neighbouring heiress Ann Walker - who soon came to live at Shibden Hall. Anne, now with access to Ann's income stream, could develop her plans to enhance the estate. And, though of course she had no vote herself, Anne was extremely active politically: at the 1837 election, she doorstepped her tenants in the 'Blue' interests, like any Tory squire.
So the question remains: pioneer feminist or 'old Tory squire'? This TWL event is the London book launch for As Good As A Marriage: the Anne Lister diaries 1836-38 (MUP 2023), sequel to Female Fortune. The talk will be followed by a Q&A & book-signing, provided by Housmans Books.
This event is organized in partnership with the TWL Friends. Dr Jill Liddington is an Honorary Research Fellow, University of Leeds.
26 Tuesday: As Good as a Marriage: the life of Anne Lister.
Queer Lit & Social Refuge, Great Ancoats Street, Manchester M4 5AJ, 6 – 7.30 pm.
If you watched 'Gentleman Jack' (BBC1) and want to know more about Anne Lister, the amazing lesbian diarist, just click this link.
April 2024
Anne Lister Birthday Festival [ALBF]: Monday 1 - Monday 8.
ALBF is organized by Calderdale MBC, with events in Halifax and at Shibden. ALBF brings together the Anne Lister Society [ALS] and Anne Lister Birthday Week [ALBW], attracting visitors from around the UK, the US - and beyond.
The ALBF programmes was launched on Saturday 6 January: So watch out for exciting Anne Lister Birthday Festival events! Hurry to book your tickets as some events are already sold out: Book tickets here.
Tuesday 2 April: Was Anne Lister a pioneer feminist or 'nothing but an old Tory squire'? 4 pm – 5.30 Caygill Rooms, the Piece Hall, Halifax. For full details of this keynote talk, see March Wednesday 20th. Talk is followed by Q&A and book-signing. Tickets £12. Book tickets here
Wednesday 3 April: What Anne Lister inherited and what she bequeathed. 10.30 - 12.30 pm.
A Calderdale Heritage Walk round the Shibden estate nearest to the Hall. Judge for yourself how Anne Lister transformed her inheritance – and how her legacy later benefitted Calderdale.
Meet at the main entrance to Shibden Hall (by the blue plaque) at 10.30. This is a short circular walk, ending at 12 noon. At this point, walkers are offered a choice: either browse the Shibden shop (with its good selection of Anne Lister books) and have a cup of tea, followed by informal Q&A and book-signing. Or explore inside the magnificent Hall, (for which entrance tickets must be bought in advance.
Tickets for your timed entry to Shibden Hall: £10 & concessions. Please book for 12 noon.
Friday 5 April: Rights and Restrictions in Marriage: Anne Lister, Ann Walker and Anne Bronte's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
11.25 – 12.45 - Anne Lister Society, Panel One, 'Anne Lister, the Ladies of Llangollen and the Brontes'.
In 1836, Anne's elderly father and beloved aunt died, sister Marian leaving for East Yorkshire. So, Anne and Ann were on their own at Shibden, living their marriage. Anne's vividly intimate diaries document their relationship, recording both moments of love and joy, plus tensions and quarrels.
So what rights and freedoms did conventionally married women then have? Precious few. The right to vote was completely unthinkable, as was university education. Divorce was nigh impossible, with married women's property rights not even considered till the 1850s. These restrictions are vividly illustrated in Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848), with Haworth not far from Halifax. The novel tells how Helen Huntingdon, married to 'the worst kind of man', found herself with unenviably few rights and freedoms.
Surely Anne's 'marriage' to Anne was neither as cruel nor as legally restricted? Certainly, it had a warmth and care that Helen Huntingdon might envy. There were silences and emotional volatility, but were these not balanced by sharing cozy evenings together plus adventurous travels.
The Anne Lister Society encourages conversations between scholars and Anne's wider readership. It is organized by Professor Laurie Shannon, North Western University, near Chicago. More information about registration.
Sunday 7 April: My Favourite Anne Lister…! Caygill Rooms, The Piece Hall. Lunch 1.30 - 3 pm, talk 3.30 – 4.30.
What's more traditional than the great British Sunday Roast? You will be served lunch, with a vegetarian option available when you book your tickets. Then Jill will give an informal after-lunch talk, chatting about 'My Favourite Anne Lister… !'
Sunday lunch only: £25. Lunch plus talk: £32.50. Book tickets
September 2023
22 Friday: anniversary of Anne Lister's death in a remote region of Russia, 1840. Memorial Events in Halifax, Thursday 21 - Sunday 24.
Female Fortune was the book that inspired Sally Wainwright to write Gentleman Jack. If you watched this compelling TV drama series and wonder what Anne Lister did next, then this is the book for you! Was Anne Lister's union' with Ann Walker 'as good as a marriage' - or was it better? And what was heterosexual marriage really like for women in the 1830s? To get your copy now, just go to the Book Corner, Halifax or to Manchester University Press: - As Good as a Marriage23 Saturday: Anne Lister: Arch-traditionalist or 'the first modern lesbian'?
Crossley Gallery, D Mill, Dean Clough. Doors open 5.45, talk 6 pm – 7.30. Tickets: £7.50 here. As Good As A Marriage is the long-awaited sequel to Female Fortune. So, are journalists right to call Anne 'the first modern lesbian'? Or rather, as inheritor of ancient Shibden Hall, did she seem like a traditional member of the local landed gentry?
Talk followed by Q&A, book signing and mingling.
Sunday 24: Anne Lister's Halifax: Mock Marriages and Effigy-Burning.
In 1834 Ann Walker moved into Shibden. For the 1835 Election, Anne and Ann door-stepped their tenants. The 'Blue' candidate won Halifax by a single vote. Riots erupted - plus a malicious public jibe at the Shibden couple. Alongside, coal-mining rivalry continued. And in 1836, lurid tales reached Shibden of Anne and Ann being burnt in effigy down in Halifax. So who was behind these malicious personal jibes - and why?
A 2-hour circular walk organized by Calderdale Heritage Walks; ending at the Three Pigeons pub for refreshments plus Q&A session.
2pm: meet Jill Liddington & Steve Crabtree in the Piece Hall by the Book Corner, HX1 1RE. Booking (£5) from TicketSource. Book your tickets here.
October 2023
2 Monday: Jill Liddington in conversation with Emma Donoghue, Durham.
Celebrated writer Emma Donoghue's new novel, Learned by Heart, tells the story of young Anne Lister's love affair with Eliza Raine - formed when they were both pupils at the elite Manor School in York. The two girls were thrown together and Eliza's life was turned upside down.
Jill is a feminist historian, her work on Anne Lister's diaries focussing on the 1830s. By then Anne had inherited Shibden Hall and established herself as a formidable member of the local landed gentry. So this conversation between two very different authors, both fascinated by Anne Lister, promises to be exhilarating!
7 pm: the Durham LitFest event is hosted by Collected Books, Durham's new independent bookshop: 44 The Riverwalk, DH1 4SL. www.collectedbooks.co.uk
Tickets £10; admission plus book £25. Emma Donoghue - Learned By Heart | Monday 2 October, 7pm at Elvet Meth.
18 Wednesday: Anne Lister's diaries 1833-38: As Good As A Marriage? Leeds
Meet the historian whose book, Female Fortune: the Anne Lister diaries 1833-36, inspired Sally Wainwright to write the tv drama 'Gentleman Jack' (BBC1/HBO, 2019 & 2022). Jill Liddington, author of Female Fortune, will give a talk to launch the sequel, As Good As A Marriage: the Anne Lister diaries 1836-38 (2023, MUP).
This book tracks the daily life of Anne Lister and Ann Walker living together at Shibden Hall, in a marriage understood to be binding. Lister's diaries are five million words long, about a sixth written in her secret code, allowing us to eavesdrop onto the intimate conversations between Anne and Ann. Was their relationship 'as good as a marriage'? In the early-nineteenth century, what rights and freedoms did women in conventional marriages have?
Following Jill's talk, we'll host a Q&A, exploring the intimate worlds of same-sex relationships between women then, and how Lister's inherited landed status and religious beliefs enabled her to live a life of relative sexual freedom. To celebrate the publication of this book, the talk will be followed by a drinks reception.
Dr Jill Liddington is an Honorary Research Fellow at CIGS, University of Leeds. A feminist historian, she has written on the Votes for Women campaigns and on Anne Lister of Shibden Hall, Halifax. More information about Jill's significant contribution to women's history can be found on her website and in her recent post for the CIGS blog. This event is run jointly by the Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies (CIGS) and the School of History's Women, Gender and Sexuality research cluster.
This event will take place on 18th October 2023, 4-6.30pm, at the University of Leeds - exact venue tbc. Please sign up here.
Look out! 2024 is Calderdale's Year of Culture! Watch this space!
March 2023
Women's History Month: 'Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories'.
7 Tuesday: As Good as a Marriage: the Anne Lister diaries 1836-38. Manchester University Press, publication date.
Female Fortune was the book that inspired Sally Wainwright to write Gentleman Jack. If you watched Gentleman Jack and wonder what Anne Lister did next, then this is the book for you! Was Anne Lister's 'union' with Ann Walker 'as good as a marriage' - or was it better? And what was heterosexual marriage really like for women in the 1830s? To order your pre-publication copy now, just go to Manchester University Press - As Good as a Marriage
24 Friday: MUP book launch at the Portico Library, Manchester. 6 – 7.30pm. Jill Liddington in conversation with Helen Antrobus (Curator for the National Trust) about As Good As A Marriage.
Book-signing and refreshments.
Tickets (£5) and further details.
The Portico, dating back to 1806, is Manchester's ancient & beautiful library. In the city centre, it's the perfect venue for a book launch! 57 Mosley Street M2 3HY. We hope to see you there to celebrate this latest Anne Lister book!
26 Sunday: Lancaster Literature Festival, 4 - 5pm. Jill Liddington speaking on Anne Lister and Gentleman Jack. Venue: The Auditorium, The Storey, Meeting House Lane, Lancaster LA1 1TH. Book signing.
Moderator: Catherine Spooner, Professor of Literature and Culture, Lancaster University.
Tickets are free, but donations are welcome and please register at Eventbrite as capacity is limited: in-person at The Storey. Books available here
Livestream or catch up later online
Anne Lister Birthday Week:
Wednesday 29 March - Monday 3 April
Eventbrite booking link for all ALBW events: https://tinyurl.com/ALBW2023
30 Thursday: ALBW book launch As Good as a Marriage
3.30 - 5 pm. Pat Esgate in conversation with Jill Liddington on what was next for Anne Lister and Ann Walker. Venue: the Caygill Rooms, the nicest rooms in the magnificent Piece Hall!
This workshop is free, but seats must be reserved. Conversation followed by book-signing. Note: the MUP book launch is in Manchester, ALBW launch will be in Halifax, so no overlap…
30 Thursday: Halifax Minster Event, 7pm – 8.30.
The ALBW Kick-off. Opening celebration: Anne Lister, Royalty and Loyalty.
Event hosted by Pat Esgate, with Helena Whitbread, Jill Liddington & Anne Choma - discussing how Anne Lister changed our lives – and yours! Followed by book signing. Tickets £20. The Minster bar offers coffee, cakes and wine.
April 2023
1 Saturday: Anne Lister Means Business (and maybe some shopping).
A 2-hour walk 2.30 pm – 4.30, followed by tea, cake and Q&A.
Anne Lister regularly strode down from Shibden to Halifax. She had to see her lawyer and equally importantly her bank manager. Such business was conducted in the town centre. How much can we know about those 1830s streets and buildings? And was there still time for shopping?
Organized by Calderdale Heritage Walks. Meet Jill Liddington and Anne Kirker at the Anne Lister statue in the Piece Hall. Tickets: £15. But hurry, as tix are limited for CHW walks.
2 Sunday: Rivals and Riches: Anne Lister and Christopher Rawson.
Hope Hall, 5pm-6.30.
Anne Lister and Christopher Rawson were arch-rivals, and this was made more complex because he was related to Ann Walker. If you haven't visited Hope Hall yet, here's an opportunity to see Christopher Rawson's magnificent Georgian home for yourself.
Venue: the Albany Club, 57 Clare Road, Halifax HX1 2JP. Tickets: £20. Bar, wine and book-signing.
3 Monday: ALBW Live: Pat Esgate in conversation with Jill Liddington.
10.30 am – 12 noon.
This will be more informal than Thursday's ALBW book launch. Cheryl MacDonald, a key member of the ALBW team, will film this author event – which will be shown at a later date. If you'd like to be part of this ALBW Live film, just grab a ticket!. Venue: Calderdale Industrial Museum, Square Road, HX1 1QG (just below the Piece Hall). Tickets: £10.
May 2023
23 Tuesday: As Good as a Marriage: the Anne Lister diaries 1836-38 - US publication.
June 2023
1 Thursday: Leeds Central Library, Local and Family History Room. 6.30 – 8pm.
Who Was the Real Gentleman Jack?
Female Fortune was the book that inspired Sally Wainwright to write Gentleman Jack (BBC1/HBO, 2019 & 2022). If you watched Gentleman Jack and wonder what Anne Lister did next, then this is the book for you! Was Anne Lister's 'union' with Ann Walker 'as good as a marriage' - or was it better? And what was heterosexual marriage really like for women in the 1830s?
Jill is in conversation with Stu Hennigan, writer and Senior Librarian. There will be a Q&A at the end. Tickets here
3 Saturday: York Festival of Ideas. As Good as Marriage: the Anne Lister diaries.
2 – 3 pm. Tempest Anderson Hall, Museum Gardens
Renowned writer and historian Jill Liddington will discuss Anne Lister's 1836-38 diaries. These are the focus of her new book As Good as a Marriage, the sequel to Female Fortune, which inspired Sally Wainwright to write Gentleman Jack, the highly popular BBC and HBO series. Hear all about Anne's unconventional 'marriage' to wealthy heiress Ann Walker, the daily lives of these two women, and explore how their dissident union compared with that of conventionally married women then.
Free tickets: yorkfestivalofideas.com This weblink will be going live soon.
17 Saturday: Anne Lister Means Business (and maybe some shopping).
A 2-hour walk 2.30 pm – 4.30, followed by tea, cake and Q&A.
Anne Lister regularly strode down from Shibden to Halifax. She had to see her lawyer and equally importantly her bank manager. Such business was conducted in the town centre. How much can we know about those 1830s streets and buildings? And was there still time for shopping?
Organized by Calderdale Heritage Walks. Meet Jill Liddington and Anne Kirker at the Anne Lister statue in the Piece Hall. Tickets here: £5.
January 2023
21 Saturday: Anne Lister in Halifax: arch-traditionalist or 'first modern lesbian'?
2-4 pm. Halifax Civic Trust. Venue: Albany Club, Halifax.
The Albany was once the magnificent home of Christopher Rawson, Anne Lister's arch-rival. This debate asks what Anne Lister was really like, and is a fund-raising event for the Civic Trust. The talk will be followed by Q&A and Female Fortune book signing. Refreshments: tea, coffee & biscuits. Albany Club, 57 Clare Road, HX1 2JP.
Tickets: £15 and booking is via Eventbrite
February 2023
4 Saturday: Anne Lister: what did she ever do for Calderdale?
Doors 6.45 pm, show 7.45. Wadsworth Community Centre.
Jill Liddington's Female Fortune inspired Sally Wainwright to write Gentleman Jack. Rachel Lappin from Hebden Bridge, a volunteer at Shibden Hall, now works promoting Calderdale and Anne Lister. Fiona Widdop, the Yorkshire Harpist, will play music from Anne Lister's era.
This Words and Music Event is organized by BGR to celebrate Independent Venue Week. Wadsworth Community Centre is on hillside above Hebden Bridge: HX7 8RY. Bar opens at 6.45 and food is available. There will also be a book signing session
Tickets here: £12/£6. Tel: 07731 661053
June 2022
22 Wednesday: Washburn Heritage Centre - All You Need to Know About Anne Lister, 6.30 – 8pm. Location: Fewston Church, Harrogate.
www.washburnvalley.org includes map of how to get to Fewston in beautiful countryside.
To book a seat, please contact Jenny Wilson, Washburn Heritage Centre Administrator. Email her at centre@washburnvalley.org or ring the office 01943 880794.
Cost £8 for WHC member, £10 non-member and light refreshments will be served.
Bookstall run by Little Ripon Bookshop.
29 Wednesday: Anne Lister in Her Words exhibition,
Wakefield History Centre, West Yorkshire Archives Service, 6 pm.
The exhibition is open to visitors until April 2023. On 29 June, I will be speaking with Helena Whitbread on our own journey in discovering the magnificent Anne Lister diaries. I'm afraid this is an invitation-only event but do please visit this wonderful Wakefield exhibition.
More info
August 2022
22 Monday: Stripey Badger bookshop, Grassington.
The talk will be held in the Octagon Theatre, 7pm.
An Evening with Jill Liddington, whose book Female Fortune inspired Sally Wainwright to write 'Gentleman Jack'. Tickets £5, with £6 discount on purchase of Female Fortune (£12.50). Glass of wine, Q&A and book-signing. The perfect way to end a summer day in the Dales!
More info
September 2022
22 Thursday: anniversary of Anne Lister's death in a remote region of Russia, 1840.
24 Saturday: Anne Lister Means Business (and maybe some shopping),
2.30. A 2-hour walk followed by cake/tea and Q&A.
Organized by Calderdale Heritage Walks. Anne Lister regularly strode down from Shibden to Halifax. She had to see her lawyer and equally important her bank manager. Such business was conducted in the town centre. How much can we know about those streets and buildings in the 1830s? And was there still time for any shopping?
February 2022
19 Saturday: ALBW Live interview. Anne Lister Birthday Week - interview by ALBW organizer, Pat Esgate (New York) with Jill Liddington (Calderdale).
If you missed the Live interview, you can watch it here now.
March 2022
15 Tuesday: Female Fortune new edition published (UK & eBook) by Manchester University Press. More info
24 Thursday: book launch, new edition of Female Fortune, the book to take to your desert island. Book Corner, Piece Hall, Halifax, 6pm.
Book tickets £5, redeemable on price of book. Includes glass of wine.
30 Wednesday: Who was the real Anne Lister? 1 pm. Zoom talk for Northern Trains.
Anne Lister inherited Shibden Hall estate on the outskirts of Halifax in 1826. Her magnificent diaries, running to 4-5m words, have been recognized by UNESCO. Written partly in her own secret code, in the 1830s they record her 'union' with neighbouring heiress Ann Walker. Anne Lister has been called 'the first modern lesbian'. Or was she a profound traditionalist? Her attitude to the new-fangled railways was revealing. In 1834, Female Fortune records how Anne and Ann took a trip on a new 'railroad'. Would it ever catch on? Or would the canal generation hold their own?
Talk followed by Q&A. Join Zoom talk
31 Thursday: 6.30 – 8pm, Haworth. All You need to know about Anne Lister.
Event organized by Wave of Nostalgia bookshop, Haworth.
Venue: Cobbles & Clay café and studio, 70 Main Street, Haworth (near the top of street).
Book event tickets online here
Tickets £5, redeemable on purchase of Female Fortune. Refreshments.
April 2022
Anne Lister Birthday Week (ALBW) and Anne Lister Birthday Festival (Calderdale):
ALBW tickets here
2 Saturday: Helena Whitbread and Jill Liddington at Halifax Minster, 7pm – 9.30 pm.
Tickets here - £17. Beer and wine available for purchase.
5 Tuesday: Writers' Forum, Jill Liddington, author, Female Fortune, 2.30 – 4pm.
This was the Anne Lister book Sally Wainwright said she take with her is stranded on a desert island. Caygill Room, The Piece Hall. A free workshop. Come along, meet the author, and have you own copy signed.
6 Wednesday: Anne Lister's Mock Marriage and Effigy-burning walk, 2 – 4 pm.
More info
7 Thursday: Rivals and Riches at Hope Hall, 6 pm – 7.30.
Explore the industrial rivalry and political allegiance between Anne Lister and Christopher Rawson ~ in his own home. Tickets: £18.
More info
8 Friday: Anne Lister's Mock Marriage and Effigy-burning walk, 2 – 4 pm.
Meet at Anne Lister's statue in the Piece Hall; a 2-hour circular walk, finishing with a Q&A session in the Three Pigeons pub. Tickets: £15. More info
Talks and walks continues after end of ALBW. All walks are organized by Calderdale Heritage Walks [CHW] - Book here
10 Sunday: 2 pm, Hebden Bridge. Writing Anne Lister: an LGBTQ+ History.
Event, organized by Happy Valley Pride, is the finale to Anne Lister Birthday Festival.
Venue: Hebden Bridge Little Theatre, Holme Street, Hebden Bridge HX7 8EE.
Tickets £5. Book in advance - www.happyvalleypride.com. Also available on the door.
12 Tuesday: Lighthouse Bookshop, Edinburgh. Edinburgh's Radical Bookshop. Female Fortune: Exploring Anne Lister's diaries with Jill Liddington 7-8pm
Jill's talk followed by conversation with Stef Lauer of Edinburgh Anne Lister tours, and ending with a Q&A - More info
14 Thursday: Anne Lister means business (and maybe some shopping), 5.30 pm.
Meet by the Book Corner, Halifax Piece Hall. Anne regularly strode down to Halifax from Shibden. She must see her lawyer and bank manager. Was there also time for any shopping?
This 2-hour walk ends about 7.30 with Q&A session at the White Swan. Tickets: £5.
17 Sunday: Easter.
23 Saturday: Anne Lister's Mock Marriage and Effigy-burning walk, 5.30 pm.
Meet by the Book Corner, Halifax Piece Hall. For the 1835 Election, Anne Lister and Ann Walker door-stepped their tenants. Their 'Blue' candidate won in Halifax by just one single vote. Riots erupted, plus a malicious jibe directed at Anne and Ann up at Shibden.
A 2-hour circular walk, finishing with a Q&A session in the Three Pigeons pub. Tickets: £5.
May 2022
7 Saturday: Summertime Saunter – up to Coley. 1 pm. With Ian Philp
One summer's day in 1837, Anne and Ann walked through the tranquil countryside up to Coley. What was it that compelled Anne to visit such an isolated church?
Meet at top of Kirk Lane, opposite Grammar School, Denholme Gate Road, Hipperholme. A 2¼ -hour walk, ending with Q&A at Lightcliffe Tea Rooms.
17 Tuesday: US publication day, Female Fortune new edition, Manchester University Press.
September 2021
The three Calderdale Heritage Walks in July all sold out, and are offered again now:
4 Saturday - Anne Lister's Shibden: Her Private Face.
A 4-hour walk from Halifax up steep Old Bank to Shibden.
Meet 11.30 am at the Piece Hall.
15 Wednesday - Anne Lister: Mock Marriages and Effigy-Burning.
A 2-hour, early evening walk across Halifax.
Meet 6 pm at the Piece Hall.
25 Saturday - Anne Lister's Shibden: Marriage, Mining & Money.
A 2 hour 30mins afternoon walk, climbing up Pump Lane above Shibden.
Meet in front of Meerside Café at 2 pm.
Full walk details here. To book a ticket, just click on TicketSource.
Anne Lister’s life will be celebrated in Halifax 24-26 September, including:
24 Friday - The Gentleman Jack Effect. An afternoon with Helena Whitbread, Jill Liddington and Janet Lea, author of The Gentleman Jack Effect.
The Red Brick auditorium, Square Chapel, Halifax, 1 pm.
As capacity in the theatre is limited, please book your tickets now.
October 2021
3 Sunday - Gentleman Jack: the real Anne Lister. Interview with Jill Liddington, Huddersfield Literature Festival. Holmfirth Civic Hall 2.30 pm.
This event is currently booked out, but additional tickets (£5-£7) will be available when possible. More details here
23 Saturday - An intimate evening with Jill Liddington: all you need to know about Anne Lister. Halifax Festival of Words. The Book Corner, Piece Hall, 5.30 pm. Tickets £6, available in store. More info here
All my Anne Lister events from today (18 March 2020) to the end of April and beyond have had to be cancelled.
Most will be rescheduled, and as soon we have dates we will let you know. Stay safe!
180 years ago on 22 September 1840, Anne Lister died in the remote Russian province of Western Georgia. In September 2020, Calderdale, which runs Anne’s Shibden home as a museum, offers a range of online events: go to the Anne Lister 180 celebrations web page. There are also events in the cities near Halifax - Leeds and Manchester - & Baltimore in the USA.
September 2020
15 Tuesday: Who was the real Anne Lister?
5.30pm, Leeds. The Thoresby Society and Leeds Library. An illustrated history talk by Dr Jill Liddington followed by Q&A. If you are not a Thoresby Society member, please contact Alan Slomson on A.Slomson@leeds.ac.uk to book a place. If you would like an Anne Lister book-signing ~ by Zoom ~ please contact herdenofhebden@gmail.com & Rachel Lappin will email you the details.
21 Monday: The Gentleman Jack Effect.
3pm, an online discussion hosted by Calderdale Libraries on the impact Anne Lister has had on Calderdale. Join a panel of experts including Rev Jane Finn (Halifax Minster), Laura Johansen (Calderdale Culture Hub) and Jill Liddington. Streamed live on Calderdale Council’s YouTube channel, where you can ask questions:
Friday 25: Anne Lister Research Summit. Includes Jill Liddington and Livia Labate, ALRS co-organizer, in conversation on the history of Anne Lister research over time. Here’s a chance to hear from Anne Lister’s many fans across the globe, inspired by Gentleman Jack, talk on their new research.
October 2020
21 Wednesday: Writing Anne Lister: an LGBTQ History.
7 pm, Portico Library, Manchester.
Writing Anne Lister: An LGBTQ+ History
Booking a ticket: £6. As well as the talk, there will be book-signing by zoom!
November 2020
Thursday 26: 9 am UK (10 am Paris).
Anne Lister of Shibden Hall 1791-1840: gender, social class and sexuality.
You are invited to join students at the Sorbonne to explore the world of Anne Lister in 1830s’ Halifax.
How was Anne able to do all she did? How did her gender, social class & sexuality allow her such wide freedoms? And how did they place boundaries around what was possible for even a determined woman then to do?
To book a place at this special zoom lecture, please email fbensimon@free.fr
February 2020:
LGBT History Month
12 Wednesday: Writing Anne Lister: an LGBT history - the Portico Library, Manchester - 6.30-8pm. The Gaskell Society co-hosts this event to celebrate LGBT History Month. Sold out. See 30th April for repeat event.
18 Tuesday: Writing Anne Lister. Oxford University History Faculty. Event 2-6pm, lecture at 4pm-5.30. Venue: History Faculty, George Street, Oxford. Organised by the Faculty's Centre for Gender, Identity, and Subjectivity. More info
How do you write about a woman who has already written over four million words? Reading Anne’s heavily abbreviated diary handwriting and deciphering her private code daunts even the most determined historians. In 1990 Jill Liddington, living in Halifax just a mile from Shibden, began work on the 1830s journals.
Female Fortune: land, gender & authority: the Anne Lister Diaries 1833-36 (1998, 2019), inspired Sally Wainwright’s Gentleman Jack (BBC1/HBO).
Dr Liddington explores how Anne Lister has been presented by generations of editors and historians. She traces this story through the lens of LGBT history ~ from Anne Lister’s death in 1840, right up to Gentleman Jack in 2019.
20 Thursday: Writing Anne Lister: the real ‘Gentleman Jack’ - Southampton University, Stonewall Lecture. 6pm-7.30. Venue: Avenue Campus, University of Southampton SO17 1BF. See details above. Anne Lister bookstall & live streaming. Book tickets
Shibden Hall
March 2020
18 Wednesday: Writing Anne Lister: an LGBT history.
Hebden Bridge Town Hall 7pm.
Happy Valley Pride’s Big Night Out.
Booking www.happyvalleypride.com & go to tickets.
April 2020
Anne Lister Birthday Celebration 1st - 10th
Anne Lister walks are organized by www.CalderdaleHeritageWalks.org.uk Go to this link for booking & to check there are still tickets.
1 Wednesday: Anne Lister’s Halifax: mock marriages & effigy-burning - walk, sold out.
2 Thursday: Anne Lister’s Shibden: Her Private Face - walk, sold out.
3 Friday: Anne Lister’s Shibden: marriage, mining & money - walk, sold out.
4 Saturday: Who was the real Anne Lister? Halifax Minster, 7pm. Jill Liddington & Helena Whitbread. Talk, sold out
6 Monday: Anne Lister’s Halifax: mock marriages & effigy-burning - walk.
At Easter 1834, Anne Lister & Ann Walker attended communion in York. Anne ‘prayed our union might be happy’, and Ann soon moved into Shibden. Meanwhile, their coal-mining and ‘Blue’ door-stepping continued. Immediately after the 1835 Halifax ‘window-breaking election’, ‘mock marriage’ announcements appeared in Yorkshire newspapers. Then in 1836, lurid tales reached Shibden of Anne and Ann being burnt in effigy down in Halifax. Who was behind both these public jibes ~ and why?
Meet at 2pm in the Piece Hall by Book Corner, HX1 1RE. A 2-hour circular walk round Halifax, with short readings from Female Fortune, & ending with tea & Q&A. Some steep steps, & walking shoes/boots advised. Booking: www.CalderdaleHeritageWalks.org.uk
Halifax Minster
7 Tuesday. Anne Lister & Christopher Rawson: Rivalry & Riches. 6pm-7.30?
Join us in the intimate setting of Hope Hall, Christopher Rawson’s magnificent home. Jill discusses the complex relationship between Anne Lister & powerful banker Christopher Rawson, exploring the political allegiance and industrial rivalry between two of Halifax's most dramatic figures.
Venue: Albany Club, Clare Road, Halifax. Doors open 5.30 for 6pm start. Organized by the Book Corner, which also provides the Anne Lister bookstall. Chaired by Laura Johansen. £16.50 ticket, includes glass of wine. Booking
Hope Hall
18 Saturday: Anne Lister’s Shibden: Her Private Face. A 4-hour walk from Halifax climbing slowly up Old Bank to Shibden, to recreate Anne’s estate in 1832 when she returned from her travels. Re-acquaintance with neighbouring heiress Ann Walker changed her life ~ for ever. Anne Lister deployed her considerable persuasive skills to enthral and seduce this wealthy young woman - all out of sight of Halifax’s prying eyes. With short readings from Nature’s Domain, ending with tea, cake & Q&A. A CHW walk.
Meet: 11.30 am in the Piece Hall by the Book Corner, HX1 1RE. Walk leaders: Jill Liddington & Steve Crabtree. Walking boots/shoes advised; bring packed lunch & snacks.
21 Tuesday: Anne Lister - what did she ever do for Calderdale? After her death in 1840, silence surrounded Anne Lister & her amazing diary. Outside local Antiquarians, few people knew much about her. Right up until 1984 when the Guardian published an article headed ‘The two million word enigma’. I’d recently moved to Halifax - and was soon hooked. Only to discover it wasn’t 2m words but 4 million! Anne Lister books followed. Yet it was only with Sally Wainwright’s 2019 drama series Gentleman Jack (BBC1/HBO) that Anne Lister won a global following. So what’s this triumph doing for Calderdale?
Venue: Hebden Bridge Library, Cheetham Street, Hebden Bridge HX7 8EP. Free with refreshments on donation. Anne Lister bookstall. Booking.
25 Saturday: Anne Lister’s Shibden: marriage, mining & money. With Ann Walker now moved into Shibden, Anne Lister began to realize her coal-mining ambitions. This walk passes by the Moss House where her determined courtship began. It climbs steadily up Pump Lane, then curves round by Walker Pit - sunk in 1835 and named in honour of Ann. By 1836 Anne Lister’s grand plans for Shibden’s grounds could begin to take shape.
Meet: 2pm, Meerside Café, HX3 6XG. A 2½ hour walk, with one steep ascent. Walking shoes/boots advised. Ends with tea, cake & Q&A. A CHW walk.
30 Thursday: Writing Anne Lister: an LGBT history ~ the Portico Library, Manchester ~ 6.30-8pm. This talk in February booked up so quickly that the Portico is offering it again! For details, go to Oxford talk (above, February 18th). Booking
May 2020
9 Saturday: Anne Lister’s Halifax: mock marriages & effigy-burning.
A 2-hour circular afternoon walk round Halifax, with short readings from Female Fortune, & ending with tea & Q&A. See Mon 6 April (above) for details. Booking: www.CalderdaleHeritageWalks.org.uk
11 Mon: Who was the real Anne Lister? - 7pm.
Maverick traditionalist, landowner, traveller, scholar – Anne Lister was a richly talented woman who lived a lesbian life in 1830s’ Halifax. Enjoy an evening of insights and discovery with Jill Liddington. Her book Female Fortune: the Anne Lister diaries 1833-36 inspired scriptwriter Sally Wainwright to write Gentleman Jack (BBC1/HBO), and so to bring this remarkable woman to world attention.
Venue: Marsden Mechanics, Colne Valley. Tickets: £3. Anne Lister bookstall. Booking details to follow.
16 Saturday: Anne Lister’s Shibden: marriage, mining & money. Meet at 2pm, Meerside Café, HX3 6XG.
See Sat 25th April for full walk details. A 2½ hour walk. Booking: www.CalderdaleHeritageWalks.org.uk
30 Saturday: Anne Lister - what did she ever do for Calderdale? 2pm
Venue: Brighouse Library, Halifax Road, Brighouse HD6 2AF. A joint venture with the Friends of the Rydings. For full details, see Tues 21 April (Hebden Bridge Library). Free with refreshments on donation.
Booking - With Anne Lister bookstall.
June 2020
4 Thursday: Anne Lister’s Halifax: mock marriages & effigy-burning. Meet 6pm: A 2-hour circular evening walk round Halifax, with short readings from Female Fortune, & ending with tea & Q&A. See Mon 6 April (above) for full details. Booking: www.CalderdaleHeritageWalks.org.uk
December 2019
How do you write about a woman who has already written a four-million-word diary? Jill Liddington looks at how different generations of editors and authors have presented Anne Lister of Shibden Hall, Halifax. She places them in their LGBT historical context - from Anne’s death in 1840 right through to Gentleman Jack in 2019.
5 Thursday: Writing Anne Lister - Smith College, Northampton, Mass 4.30pm, Graham Hall, Brown Fine Arts Center. Free, open to the public & wheelchair accessible.
7 Saturday: Writing Anne Lister - Rockland Pride event, Nyack, NY 10960 - 6.30-9pm. Sold out.
10 Tuesday: Writing Anne Lister - Manhattan LGBT Center, New York NY 10011 - 7pm. Free registration - $10 suggested donation. gaycenter.org/jill-liddington
13 Friday: Who was the real Anne Lister? San Francisco 5.30pm - Sip Tea Room, 721 Lincoln Way, CA 94122. Tea, talk & intimate discussion about everything Anne Lister. Book here
Shibden Hall, Halifax
January 2019
19 Saturday: What did Anne Lister do - in 1832?
3.30~5 pm.
Anne Lister of Shibden Hall, Halifax (1791-1840) was a landowner, scholar and diarist. Her journals, written partly in her own private code, record her lesbian affairs with other women. BBC1's drama series opens in 1832. Jill asks: how could Anne Lister do all she did?
Venue: Performance Space 1, Manchester Central Library, St Peter's Square, Manchester M2 5PD.
With Anne Lister bookstall. Booking
February 2019
28 Thursday: Gentleman Jack: Anne Lister and her diaries
7pm~8.30.
British Library Panel - Diaries: Lives & Times.
Ahead of BBC1's drama series, Gentleman Jack, Jill Liddington joins biographer Angela Steidele to discuss the Anne Lister journals ~ which run to 4-million words. With vivid readings, the Panel explores how Anne Lister recorded her lesbian affairs ~ and what else she did.
Venue: Knowledge Centre, British Library, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB. +44 (0)1937 546546. Booking
March 2019
2 Saturday: Shibden Hall, Halifax - reopens after filming.
Shibden Hall, by John Horner, from Buildings in the Town of Halifax, 1835.
9 Saturday: International Women's Day Tea Party
Fundraising in aid of Halifax Women's Centre.
Jill Liddington on What did Anne Lister do - in 1832? Sorry this is invitation only. www.womencentre.org.uk
April 2019
3 Wednesday: Anne Lister's birthday celebration & unveiling blue plaque at Shibden
3.30pm.
Ahead of BBC1's drama series Gentleman Jack:
please join us at 3.30pm in the Aisled Barn for Anne Lister talks by Helena Whitbread and Jill Liddington. This event is free, but as the Barn seats just 50 please reserve your place in advance.
Click here to book on Eventbrite
Afterwards, at 4.30pm, the Mayor will unveil the new blue plaque commemorating Anne Lister (1791-1840) of Shibden Hall: diarist, traveller, landowner & lesbian. The unveiling, organized by Halifax Civic Trust, will be held on the front lawn and everyone is welcome to attend. The Hall itself will be open 10am to 5pm; the shop sells Anne Lister books by both Helena and Jill.
May 2019
19 Sunday: Anne Lister's Halifax: her public face.
A 2-hour walk, recreating the town in 1832 that Anne Lister knew so well. She used Halifax for discussing business with her lawyer, shopping and catching up on political news ~ plus visiting the homes of the few families she saw as social equals. The walk includes short readings from Nature's Domain & ends with Q&A over tea & biscuits.
Booking: opens on 8 April. Pre-booking is essential.
Details: Calderdale Heritage Walks
Hope Hall, by John Horner, from Buildings in the Town of Halifax, 1835.
23 Thursday: Writing Anne Lister - 7pm.
How do you write about a woman who's already written a four-million word diary? About a woman whose every letter artfully resculpts the truth?
Venue: Book Corner, Halifax Piece Hall, HX1 1RE.
Booking: www.bookcornerhalifax.com & info@bookcornerhalifax.com
June 2019
Calderdale Heritage Walks
Anne Lister’s Shibden: her private face.
Dates: Sun 16 June - fully booked. Sun 30 June - a few places left.
A 4-hour walk from Halifax, climbing slowly up steep Old Bank to Shibden. In May 1832, Anne Lister returned home despondent, betrayed by yet one more woman’s marriage plans. Then re-acquaintance with neighbouring heiress Ann Walker of Lightcliffe changed her life for ever. Anne Lister deployed all her considerable skills to enthral & seduce this wealthy young woman ~ all out of sight of Halifax’s prying eyes. We explore Shibden’s ‘landscape of desire’, reshaped by Anne Lister for this courtship. The walk includes short readings from Nature’s Domain & ends with Q&A over tea & cake.
Pre-booking is essential. Booking details: www.CalderdaleHeritageWalks.org.uk
Anne Lister’s Halifax: her public face.
Dates: Sun 23 June - fully booked. Repeat walk: Sun 21 July.
A 2-hour walk, recreating the town in 1832 that Anne Lister knew so well. She used Halifax for discussing business with her lawyer, shopping and catching up on political news ~ plus visiting the homes of the few families she saw as social equals. The walk includes short readings from Nature’s Domain & ends with Q&A over tea & biscuits.
Pre-booking is essential. Booking details: www.CalderdaleHeritageWalks.org.uk
July 2019
Saturday 13 July
Who was the real Anne Lister?
Book Corner, Halifax Piece Hall - 7pm. Jill Liddington & Helena Whitbread.
Maverick traditionalist, landowning traveller, scholar & seducer – was Anne Lister a woman of contrasts? Enjoy an evening of exclusive insight and discovery with acclaimed experts Helena Whitbread and Jill Liddington, two key figures in bringing this remarkable and complex woman to world attention.
£7.50 including glass of wine; discussion and Q&A, followed by book signing.
12-14th July
Anne Lister weekend in Halifax includes a Calderdale Archives event, the diaries exhibition, an actor playing Anne Lister in the Piece Hall, Patricia Hughes on early Anne Lister, a tour of ‘Anne’s Minster’ with David Glover, an Anne Lister cocktail at the Grayston Unity - as well, of course, as Shibden being open.
21 Sunday - Anne Lister’s Halifax: her public face, walk: see above.
26 Friday - Writing Anne Lister. Norwich Pride Festival - 7pm.
Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library, the Forum, Norwich, NR2 1AW.
Early evening: exact start time?
Tickets: £5 including glass of wine. Bookstall.
Book tickets
How do you write about a woman who has already written a four-million-word diary? About a woman whose every letter artfully re-presents the truth?
Everyone approaching the Anne Lister diaries with a glint in their eye gets quickly defeated. Reading over four million words and deciphering the private coded sections is utterly daunting.
In 1990 feminist historian, Jill Liddington, living in Halifax just a mile from Shibden, began work on Anne's 1830s diaries. Although people knew about the younger Anne Lister, they were startled by Jill's editions of the later journals, Female Fortune (1998) & Nature’s Domain (2003). As BBC1’s drama series ‘Gentleman Jack’ shows, here was a woman who developed her own coal mines; seduced neighbouring heiress Anne Walker; and in 1834, at the church communion rail in York, joined Anne Walker 'in my prayers', Anne Lister’s own ‘marriage’ ceremony.
September 2019
7 Saturday: Excellent Women - Anne Lister. Tolson Museum, Huddersfield. Did you watch Sally Wainwright’s Gentleman Jack on BBC1? Jill Liddington’s talk on Anne Lister (1791-1840) looks at her remarkable diaries and what they tell us about Women’s History. How did Anne Lister manage to do all she did after she returned to Shibden in 1832? What does this say about gender, class & sexuality in the early nineteenth century?
Talk: 2pm - 3.30, ending with Q&A & book signing.
This is part of Tolson’s Women’s History event, 11am ~ 4.30pm, Kirklees Museums & Galleries.
There will be a bookstall (cash-only) with Anne Lister titles. Also livestreaming of the talk. This event is free.
Venue: Tolson Museum, Wakefield Road, Huddersfield HD5 8DJ.
25 Wednesday: Who was the real Anne Lister?
Holdsworth House, Halifax.
Anne Lister inherited Shibden Hall from her uncle in 1826. Now a member of the landed gentry, she ran her estate with energy and efficiency. However her most memorable achievement was her 4-5 million word diary, one-sixth of which was written in her secret code ~ mainly detailing her affairs with other women.
In spring 1832, Anne returned back home to Shibden despondent, betrayed by yet another woman’s marriage plans. Yet soon re-acquaintance with neighbouring heiress Ann Walker of Lightcliffe changed her life ~ forever. Nature’s Domain tells that tale and helps us uncover ‘Who was the real Anne Lister?’
Event: 3pm ~ 5.30pm, talk ends with Q&A & book signing. Livestreaming.
Tickets: £42.50, includes welcome drink, a complimentary copy of Jill’s Nature’s Domain and full afternoon tea.
Venue: Holdsworth House, Holdsworth Road, Halifax HX2 9TG.
Hope Hall, John Horner, 1835.
October 2019
4 – 6 Oct: Second Halifax Festival of Words:
6 Sunday: Anne Lister & Christopher Rawson: Riches and Rivalry
5pm-6.30.
Join local writer Jill Liddington in the intimate setting of Hope Hall. Jill discusses the complex relationship between Anne Lister & powerful banker Christopher Rawson. Gain exclusive entry to his magnificent Georgian house as Jill explores the political allegiance and industrial rivalry between two of Halifax's most distinguished historical figures.
Venue: Albany Club, Clare Road, Halifax. Anne Lister bookstall provided by the Book Corner. Event chaired by Laura Johansen, Halifax Culture Hub.
Tickets: £15 (includes glass of wine).
This is listed in the online programme.
8 Tuesday: Anne Lister and the deviant home - 5.30-7pm.
Public lecture at Manchester University, followed by wine reception at the Pankhurst Centre. Both are free.
One Anne Lister returned home to Shibden in May 1832, the household still appeared quite conventional. Besides Anne herself, there was her aunt, her widowed father and her younger sister Marian. Yet how conventional was it really? And, once Ann Walker moved in with Anne in autumn 1834, did the household deviate yet further from the norm? Dr Jill Liddington sifts through domestic details in Anne Lister's magnificent diaries, both the handwritten and coded passages, to look for answers.
Venue: Samuel Alexander Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL
10 Thursday: Anne Lister’s Halifax: Her Public Face.
NEW WALK! As the two autumn walks sold out within days, this new walk is offered. A 2-hour walk round Halifax, recreating the town in 1832 that Anne Lister knew so well. Full walk details on www.CalderdaleHeritageWalks.org.uk Booking essential (£4) ~ Halifax Visitor Centre, the Piece Hall, in person or by phone 01422 368725.
13 Sunday: Anne Lister’s Shibden: Her Private Face.
Calderdale Heritage Walks - sold out! See below.
27 Sunday: Anne Lister’s Halifax:
Her Public Face. Calderdale Heritage Walks - sold out! See below.
September 2018
15 Saturday~Walking with women's suffrage up the Colne Valley ~ 11.30am.
From Huddersfield station, walk in the footsteps of local suffragists and suffragettes. This five-mile route along the canal towpath takes us past Linthwaite ~ home of artist and suffragist Florence Lockwood, who designed Huddersfield's beautiful NUWSS banner
Please bring picnic lunch & snacks. Route includes steep descent down stone steps. Towpath may be muddy. Tea & cake in Slaithwaite at end.
Meeting point: Harold Wilson's statue, St George's Square, Huddersfield station HD1 1LG.
Booking: free for Heritage Open Days, but booking essential through Huddersfield Library, Email or 01484 223200. Booking will open on 15 August.
Organizers: Discover Huddersfield, www.discoverhuddersfield.com
19 Wednesday - Preston (UCLan & Harris Museum)
Telling the stories of local suffragette Edith Rigby, and of radical suffragist Selina Cooper of Nelson. In midsummer 1913, the WSPU's arson campaign included Edith's burning down a local house; this contrasted vividly with the suffragists' great Pilgrimage down to London. Which propaganda tactic was more effective in 'getting Asquith's ear'?
Votes for Women exhibitions:
Halifax: Laura Annie Willson MBE: suffragette, engineer, house-builder.
In September, I was delighted to open this exhibition about remarkable Annie Willson. The Industrial Museum, run by an impressive team of volunteers (many of them engineers), is open on Saturdays 10am - 4pm. If you're visiting the Piece Hall, just drop down to the Museum (it's just above Halifax station).
Calderdale Industrial Museum, Square Road, Halifax HX1 1QG.
Entry: £5 (concessions £4, under 16s free). 01422 384721. info@calderdaleindustrial.co.uk For further details (eg parking) go to the website
Huddersfield: Our Fight for the Voting Right!
A small but very impressive exhibition on the local suffragists and suffragettes who won Votes for Women in Huddersfield and the Colne Valley. It includes Florence Lockwood's magnificent suffrage banner. The exhibition continues through 2019.
Tolson Museum, Huddersfield HD5 8DJ. 01484 223240 see website - or email
October 2018
14 Sunday - How women won the vote in Halifax and beyond. 5-6pm.
In December 1918, women (or at least, women over 30) could go to the polls to elect their MP for the very first time. Votes for Women was won only after a long and bitter struggle. In Halifax, suffragettes had marched, endured prison, and boycotted the government's 1911 census. Among them was Laura Willson, a working-class girl who became a worsted weaver, & Mary Taylor, Poor Law Guardian and later magistrate ~ plus suffragist artist Florence Lockwood of Colne Valley.
This is the first ever Halifax Festival of Words! With Grayston Unity!
Venue: Corner Bookshop, 23-24 Rustic Level, Piece Hall, HX1 1RE.
Tickets: £3 See website. Talk + book signing. Email 01422 414443.
Saturday 20 - Working-class Women winning the vote. 3.45-5.15 pm.
Despite the focus on the Pankhursts, working-class campaigners were always central to women over 30 winning the vote in 1918. In Manchester and the Lancashire cotton towns, radical suffragists like Selina Cooper led the way. In West Yorkshire, on the other hand, many working-class women - like Dora Thewlis and Mary Taylor - became suffragettes and went to prison.
Panel: 100 Years since the Representation of the People Act 1918.
Suffrage bookstall - books provided by News from Nowhere + signing
FiLiA, a feminist conference (20-21 Oct), Lighthouse Venue, 12 Centenary Park, Coronet Way, Eccles, Salford, Manchester M50 1RE.
For booking, conference programme, speakers & how to get there - www.filia.org.uk
November 2018
22 Thursday - Was the Women's Movement International?
The women's suffrage movement in Edwardian England was 'the storm-centre of warfare which waged from East to West'. Campaigners included both the Pankhursts' suffragettes & suffragists led by Mrs Fawcett. The International Woman Suffrage Alliance spanned the world. What was its link to the Greenham Women's Peace Camp in 1980s?
Other conference papers include: Arms and the Women: the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom [WILPF] 1945-75, Catia Confortini, Wellesley College, Boston.
Dismarming Women/Donne Disarmanti conference, University of Venice 22-23 November
Jill Liddington's recent talks: 2014 to 2018
January 2018
20 Saturday: Celebrating the Centenary: sp who else campaigned round here after Annie Kenney?
Saddleworth, 2.30pm.
The story is well known of suffragette Annie Kenney who grew up on the Saddleworth-Oldham border. So who else campaigned locally for Votes for Women after she left? And what tactics did they deploy: suffragette militancy or suffragist constitutional methods?
Jill Liddington follows the road up from Manchester to Saddleworth, over the Pennines and down into Colne Valley. Here she looks at banner-maker Florence Lockwood & at Elizabeth Pinnance. And at two campaigners living up the Oldham Road: working-class Hannah Mitchell, and Marjory Lees who joined the great 1913 Suffrage Pilgrimage to London - in a horse-drawn caravan.
Jill's talk ends with Vote 100 plans to 'Celebrate the Century' of women over 30 winning in 1918 - at long last!
Venue: Saddleworth Museum, High Street, Uppermill, OL3 6HS.
Booking: £3 (non-members), free to members. All welcome. Suffrage bookstall.
February 2018
3 Saturday: Conference on Suffrage & Political Activism - Cambridge.
This Vote 100 conference commemorates the centenary of the 1918 Representation of the People Act, enfranchising most women over 30.
Reflecting on suffrage history across four decades. If all campaigners wanted the vote, why was it so complex?
Jill Liddington opens with discovering radical suffragists Selina Cooper and Ada Nield Chew - then focusses on the years 1911-1914. The suffragettes' plot to boycott the 1911 census was opposed by the large Women's Co-operative Guild. Why? Later, the labour-suffrage pact gave radical suffragists new political allies - yet tensions remained. Finally, in 1913, walking together on the great Suffrage Pilgrimage were both working-class women and their affluent sisters ~ all disenfranchised. Against a background of suffragette arson attacks, the pilgrims' aim was to get Asquith's ear. Which propaganda tactics succeeded?
Other speakers include Sheila Rowbotham on links across the Atlantic: Jane Robinson on the Great Suffragist Pilgrimage of 1913; & Elizabeth Crawford on Pictures and Politics, accompanying an exhibition of suffrage posters.
Venue: Murray Edwards College, Cambridge.
Organizers: Girton College, Cambridge; Murray Edwards College, Cambridge; the Labour History Research Unit at Anglia Ruskin University; and the University of Cambridge Library.
6 Tuesday: 1918 Representation of the People Act - centenary. For details of events: www.vote100.uk/
13 Tuesday: Suffragettes: Deeds Not Words ~ British Library 7pm.
Suffrage panel discussion ~ with Helen Pankhurst, great-granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst; Robert Wainwright, biographer of Muriel Matters, the Women's Freedom League; and Jill Liddington on her first suffrage history, One Hand Tied Behind Us (Virago 1978) which told the story of the radical suffragists of the Lancashire cotton towns. Panel chair: Julia Wheeler.
Booking: £12.00 (£10 & £8 concessions).
Venue: Knowledge Centre, British Library, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB.
17 Saturday: Celebrating the Centenary: what was special about York's Votes for Women campaign? York, 2pm
As part of the Vote 100 celebrations, Jill Liddington looks at the wide sweep of suffragists and suffragettes who campaigned across Yorkshire. With a particular focus on York itself, she asks: what was special about this city's Votes for Women campaign? And what did win the vote for women over 30 in 1918?
Venue: York Explore Library, Library Square, York YO1 7DS.
Tickets: £6 (£5 with York Card). Suffrage bookstall.
March 2018
8 Thursday: International Women’s Day.
10 Saturday: Campaigning for Votes for Women in Sheffield - 2pm.
Everyone’s heard of Emmeline Pankhurst, her daughters Christabel and Sylvia, and how they moved down to London. But youngest daughter Adela stayed north, becoming WSPU organizer for Yorkshire, basing herself in Sheffield.
Here, pioneer suffragist Dr Helen Wilson distanced herself from Adela’s confrontations. She preferred dignified campaigning ~ like the great 1913 Pilgrimage which passed through Sheffield. Which tactics were more effective: WSPU militancy or suffragist tactics? What really won women the vote in 1918?
Venue: Weston Park Museum, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TP.
Website: www.museums-sheffield.org.uk
From 27 Tuesday: One Hand Tied Behind Us: the rise of the women's suffrage movement (with Jill Norris, 1978, 1984, 2000), publication of French edition, Histoire des Suffragistes Radicales, by Editions Libertalia.
Book launch events, Paris, 27-30 March; & Aix-en-Provence on 5 April.
See www.editionslibertalia.com
Further details to follow.
Easter 2018
Histoire des Suffragistes Radicales (One Hand Tied Behind Us, with Jill Norris, 1978) published by Editions Libertalia.
Paris launch events:
Tues 27 March: 8pm, Librairie L'Atelier, 2bis Rue de Jourdain, 20e.
Fri 30 March: 7pm, See website
Thurs 5 April: 5.30 pm - Book in the Bar, librairies internationale, 4 Rue Joseph Cabassol, 13100 Aix-en-Provence. Tel: 04 42 26 60 07)
April 2018
18 Wednesday: Celebrating the Centenary: Votes for Women campaigners around Oldham - 7pm.
Votes for Women campaigners around Oldham.
Click image to enlarge
Local artist Helen Bradley painted Annie Kenney speaking in the street outside local mills. But who else campaigned for Votes for Women locally? And what tactics did they deploy: suffragette militancy or suffragist constitutional methods?
Hannah Mitchell and Marjory Lees both lived up the Oldham Road. Working-class Hannah wrote a classic suffragette autobiography, The Hard Way Up; whilst suffragist Marjory of Werneth Park joined the great 1913 Suffrage Pilgrimage to London ~ in a horse-drawn caravan. On the other side of Oldham stretched the Colne Valley constituency. Here artist and suffragist campaigner Florence Lockwood designed her memorable banner.
Venue: Oldham Local Studies & Archives, 84 Union Street, OL1 1DN. Organizer: Oldham Local Studies and Archives.
See website
May
5 Saturday - Vote 100 in Doncaster: why did women win the vote in 1918? - 2 pm.
Was the vote won by suffragettes' militant campaign, or by suffragists' peaceful tactics? In summer 1913, Votes for Women campaigners in Doncaster and South Yorkshire included both suffragette arsonist Lilian Lenton, and suffragists walking from all corners of the country on the great Pilgrimage ~ 'to get Asquith's ear'.
Venue: Doncaster Museum & Art Gallery, Chequer Road, DN1 2AE.
Organizer: Doncaster Heritage Festival. Suffrage bookstall.
Booking: tickets (£3) from the Local Studies Library (01302 734307) or email
14 Monday - Winning Votes for Women in Halifax & beyond~ 7pm.
Local Votes for Women campaigners include suffragettes Lavena Saltonstall and Dr Helena Jones ~ plus suffragist artist Florence Lockwood of Colne Valley. The talk includes readings from Rebel Girls and Vanishing for the Vote, followed by book signing.
Tickets: £4 from bookshop or call 01422 414443. Redeemable on purchase of book, & includes glass of wine.
Venue: Corner bookshop, 23-24 Rustic Level, Halifax Piece Hall, HX1 1RE. Email & www.bookcornerhalifax.com
June 2018
2 Saturday - Vote 100: Winning Votes for Women in Huddersfield - 2pm.
The centre-piece of this talk is Huddersfield's magnificent 'Votes for Women' banner, designed and embroidered by Florence Lockwood of Linthwaite. Her banner has recently been lovingly restored (and is display from 28 April). In addition to suffragists like Florence, Huddersfield's suffragettes also campaigned, notably Edith Key and 16-year-old Dora Thewlis ~ dubbed 'baby suffragette' after her arrest at Westminster.
Venue: Tolson Museum, Huddersfield HD5 8DJ. Website
Programme: suffrage talk & Q&A session, refreshments; introductory talk to 'Our Fight for the Voting Right!' exhibition (opened 28 April) by curator Frances Stonehouse. Plus women's suffrage bookstall.
Booking: £5 (including refreshments) Phone 01484 223240 or email
Tickets also from Eventbrite
6 Wednesday - Winning Votes for Women in Sheffield and beyond - 6pm.
Everyone's heard of the Pankhursts. However youngest daughter Adela has till recently been erased from suffrage history. Yet Adela was WSPU organizer for Yorkshire, basing herself in Sheffield. Here she harassed visiting Liberal Cabinet ministers ~ and evaded the 1911 census. Suffragist Dr Helen Wilson preferred dignified campaigning ~ like the great 1913 Suffrage Pilgrimage which passed through Sheffield. Which campaigning tactics won women the vote?
Venue: Blackwell University Bookshop, Jessop West 1, Upper Hanover St, Sheffield S3 7RA. 0114 2787211. sheffield@blackwell.co.uk
Tickets: entrance is free, but booking is via https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/winning-votes-for-women-in-sheffield-and-beyond-tickets-43749786790?aff=es2
Programme: glass of wine, suffrage talk, Q&A session, book signing.
10 Sunday - Walking with Women's Suffrage, Hebden Bridge ~ 2.15 pm.
Walk in the footsteps of Lavena Saltonstall, visiting the homes of local suffragettes, the clothing factories where they worked, and George Square where Emmeline Pankhurst addressed the crowds in 1907.
Booking: your place must be booked beforehand (£4.50). Booking opens on 1st May at the Visitor Centre desk, Halifax Central Library. For further details about booking, www.CalderdaleHeritageWalks.org.uk
Working Class Movement Library, Salford - to be confirmed.
14 Thursday - One Hand Tied Behind Us: 40 Years On - 6 pm.
Join us to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the suffrage classic, One Hand Tied Behind Us. It tells the story of the radical suffragists who took their message out to women in the Lancashire cotton towns. First published by Virago in 1978, with a third edition by Rivers Oram Press in 2000, One Hand has remained in print for forty years.
The evening is a tribute to Ruth and Eddie Frow’s pioneering Working Class Movement Library, & its support for the research by Jill Liddington and Jill Norris. Also a celebration of Vote 100, the 2018 centenary of women over 30 winning the right to vote - at long last!
Venue: Old Fire Station, The Crescent, University of Salford M5 4NL (200 yards down from the WCML).
Organizers: Working Class Movement Library, 51 The Crescent, Salford M5 4WX. info@wcml.org.uk
Bookstall: copies of One Hand.
Admission: free www.wcml.org.uk/events
Working Class Movement Library
July 2018
1 Sunday - Suffragettes and Slaves, Halifax walk - 11.30 am.
Visit the homes of Halifax's own nest of suffragettes. This 4-hour walk from Skircoat Green crosses Savile Park, goes along Queen's Road to Pellon Lane and then down to the Mechanics' Institute where in 1911 Emmeline Pankhurst urged women to boycott the government's census.
Bring snack lunch. This walk is part of the UK-wide EqualiTeas celebrations, & ends with tea & biscuits (£2.30) at the White Swan. We return to Skircoat Green by local bus.
Booking: your place must be booked beforehand (£4.50). Booking opens on 1st May at the Visitor Centre desk, Halifax Central Library. For further details about booking, www.CalderdaleHeritageWalks.org.uk
8 Sunday - Walking with Women's Suffrage, Huddersfield - 2.30.
In 1906, the nation's eyes were trained on Huddersfield. Emmeline Pankhurst swept into town and addressed massive crowds. Walk in the footsteps of local suffragettes Edith Key and Dora Thewlis, visiting their homes. The 1½-2-hour walk ends with cup of tea & Q&A.
Meeting point: Harold Wilson's statue, Huddersfield station HD1 1LG.
Charge: £3; no booking required.
Organizers: Discover Huddersfield
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September 2017 9 Saturday: Walking with women’s suffrage in the Colne Valley ~ 11.30 am. Florence Lockwood, a student at the Slade school of art in the 1880s, married a local mill-owner and moved up to Black Rock House, Linthwaite. In 1907, the Votes for Women campaign suddenly burst in on her isolated world. Emmeline Pankhurst spoke at the tumultuous Colne Valley by-election, deeply impressing Florence. But instead of joining the Pankhursts’ suffragettes, she opted for the constitutionalist suffragists in the NUWSS. Soon she was designing Huddersfield’s memorable branch banner. Walk in the footsteps of local suffragists and suffragettes. The five-mile route takes us past the home of Helen Studdard, Huddersfield NUWSS branch secretary, then descends to the canal towpath and continues to Milnsbridge - home of suffragette Elizabeth Pinnance, imprisoned in Holloway in 1907 for 14 days. The rooute, passing the mills that are reminders of Huddersfield’s industrial past, takes us up to Florence Lockwood’s Linthwaite and to Black Rock. The walk includes contributions from Cyril Pearce, Chair of Huddersfield Local History Society. It ends in Slaithwaite around 3.30, with a Q&A session at Vanilla Bean ~ then bus or train back to Huddersfield. Meet at: Harold Wilson’s statue, St George’s Square, Huddersfield HD1 1LG. Bring: packed lunch plus snacks. Walking shoes or boots advisable; the route includes a descent of 119 stone steps. Booking: no booking required. Organizers: .Kirklees Heritage Open Days & Discover Huddersfield 30 Saturday: Walking Watling Street, Come and watch a moving dance performance of the great 1913 Suffrage Pilgrimage by Aboutime Dance Company. Walking Watling Street follows the suffragist pilgrims on their route from Carlisle down to London. The Pilgrimage, engaging 100,000 women along the way, was a particularly imaginative suffrage tactic. After the performance, Jill Liddington will suggest how the Pilgrimage proved to be highly effective propaganda for winning Votes for Women. Venue: Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal ~ About Journey Dance Festival. Booking: £15 per ticket (£12.50, under 16) - 01539 725133. November 2017 17 Friday: Celebrating the Centenary: Votes for Women campaigners across Yorkshire - York, 7pm. As Vote 100 celebrations approach, Jill Liddington looks at a wide sweep of suffragists and suffragettes across Yorkshire ~ including a special focus on the city of York itself. She asks: what did win the vote for women over 30 in 1918? Venue: Clements Hall, Nunthorpe Road, York YO23 1BW. Ten minutes’ walk from York station. Organizers: Clement Hall Local History Group. Booking: £3 on the door (non-members); £1 (members) everyone welcome. Suffrage bookstall. Bar and refreshments. June 2017 3 Saturday: Leeds Suffrage Stories - 10am-4pm. Come and hear the story of Leeds’ Votes for Women campaigners ~ suffragist Isabella Ford plus suffragettes Mary Gawthorpe and Leonora Cohen - to inspire plans for Vote 100 celebrations next year. This event celebrates the centenary of the historic Leeds Convention, 3 June 1917, pledging solidarity with the Russian Revolution. Other speakers include Michael Meadowcroft and Janet Douglas, plus music by Dave Rovics in the evening. Organizers: the Ford-Maguire Society & Leeds Trades Council. 18 Sunday: Walking with Suffragettes and Slaves in Halifax - 11.30am - 3.30pm, £3. Visit the homes of Halifax’s own nest of suffragettes. From Savile Park, walk along Queen’s Road and down Pellon Lane to the Mechanics’ Institute. Here, in front of a packed audience, Emmeline Pankhurst urged women, all still voteless, to boycott the 1911 census. Meet at: the Standard of Freedom pub, Skircoat Green, HX3 0TE. 24 Saturday: Mapping Women’s Suffrage Other speakers: Elizabeth Crawford and Tara Morton. The Mapping Women’s Suffrage project pinpoints the location of suffrage campaigners right across England in 1911. Census data is supplemented by brief biographies, plus photographs of campaigners and their houses. This exciting interactive digital project offers a snapshot in time, 1911 ~ a compelling moment in suffrage history. It will be launched in 2018, as part of the Vote 100 suffrage centenary celebrations. The talk offers a preview, focussing on a pilot project in Coventry & surrounding Warwickshire. It ends with Q&A + interactive map session. Location: National Archives, Bessant Dr, Kew, TW9 4DU.
February 2017 Emmeline Pankhurst and the suffragette census boycott across Calderdale. 20 Monday: Hebden Bridge Town Hall, Waterfront Hall ~ 7.30pm. On census night, 2 April 1911, suffragettes urged women, all still disenfranchised, to boycott the government’s census. Some did, hiding away in darkened rooms to evade the enumerator. Other women disagreed with this civil disobedience tactic, preferring to provide census information that could be used for the Liberal government’s health and welfare reforms. Suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst came up and spoke to a packed meeting in Halifax, urging women to boycott. So how did Hebden Bridge and Halifax respond on census night? Tickets: £4 on the door (for non-WI members). Everyone welcome Suffrage bookstall: provided by the Book Case. March 2017 Rebels in the Archives 8 Wednesday: 7pm-8.45. British Library Knowledge Centre Theatre, Euston Road, London NW1 2DB. Panel discussion, chaired by Margaretta Jolly, Sussex University; Abi Morgan, scriptwriter, Suffragette film; Heidi Safia Mirza, adviser on Diversity to English Heritage; & Deborah Withers, author of book on Feminism and Digital Culture. Tickets: £8 & £5 ~ boxoffice@bl.uk & 01937 546546. Stalls: provided by Newham Bookshop & the Feminist Library. Food and drink: available from the bar 6pm ~ 10pm. April 2017 Walking with Women’s Suffrage 9 Sunday: 2.30 pm. Huddersfield: meet at St George’s Square (by Harold Wilson statue), in front of Huddersfield station. In 1906, the nation’s eyes were trained on Huddersfield. Emmeline Pankhurst swept into town and addressed massive crowds. Join historian Jill Liddington to walk in the footsteps of local suffragettes. Jill’s latest book, Vanishing for the Vote, tells the story of the suffragette boycott of the 1911 census. Charge: £3; no booking required. January 2016 18 Monday: Portico Library, Manchester On census night, Sunday 2 April 1911, suffragettes were urged to boycott the census - often by hiding in darkened rooms to evade the enumerator. Other suffrage campaigners disagreed with this civil disobedience tactic, instead prioritizing health and welfare reforms - and they handed over completely accurate census schedules. This talk tells the story of the census boycott plus health and welfare campaigns across Lancashire's cotton towns. In particular, it looks at Selina Cooper's Nelson, Edith Rigby's Preston, and at Rochdale ~ where a WSPU minute book, recording local suffragettes and what they did, has recently come to light. Portico Library, 57 Mosley Street, Manchester M2 3HY. Suffrage bookstall. Tickets: £5 standard, £4 Portico members, £3 students & unemployed. Book tickets: Enquiries: 0161 236 6785. www.theportico.org.uk February 2016 12 Friday: Media Centre, Huddersfield 7pm. Votes for Women! Yorkshire suffragettes demand a voice at Westminster. This quick-fire suffrage talk is part of the Notwestminster PechaKucha Night, a fast-paced evening with a distinctly democratic flavour. It starts with the Yorkshire suffragettes who demanded the vote ~ and also cared about local democracy. Following a '20 slides for 20 seconds' format, each speaker talks for 6 minutes 40 seconds. An informal and fun evening. Café Ollo, the Media Centre, 7 Northumberland Street, Huddersfield HD1 1RL. Free. Licenced bar. 16 Tuesday - Halifax Antiquarian Society 7pm. Vanishing for the Vote: Emmeline Pankhurst and the suffragette boycott in Halifax. On Thursday 30 March 1911, Mrs Pankhurst addressed a crowded audience in Halifax Mechanics' Hall. She urged women, all still unenfranchised, to boycott the government's census. Suffragettes' defiant cry was: 'No Vote, No Census!' Come census night, some women did hide away to evade the enumerator. Others decided to provide the Liberal government with accurate data for welfare reforms - and complied with the census. Why? What were the arguments for and against boycotting? And which Halifax women gave 'slave' as their occupation? Halifax Central Library, Northgate, Halifax HX1 1UN Suffrage Bookstall. Non-members of HAS: £2 donation. March 2016 1 Tues – 31 Tues: Women's History Month. 12 Saturday - Carnforth Bookshop, Lancashire 1.30 pm. Vanishing for the Vote: suffrage campaigners and the 1911 census boycott across northern Lancashire. On census night, Sunday 2 April 1911, suffragettes were urged to boycott - often by hiding in darkened rooms to evade the census enumerator. Other suffrage campaigners disagreed with this civil disobedience tactic, instead prioritizing health and welfare reforms - and they handed over completely accurate census schedules. This talk tells the story of the census boycott, plus health and welfare campaigns, across northern Lancashire. It looks at Selina Cooper's Nelson, Edith Rigby's Preston, Lancaster - and beyond. No need to book. Refreshments. Carnforth Bookshop, upstairs café, 38 - 42 Market Street, Carnforth, Lancashire LA5 9JX. Enquiries: info@carnforthbooks.co.uk April 4 Monday - Vote 100: Women's Suffrage regional historians' conference, Westminster - 11am-5.30pm. 2018 will mark the centenary of women over 30 winning the right to vote. This conference, held within the House of Commons itself, is for local and regional historians ~ to help prepare for centenary celebrations in your local town or city. Jill Liddington will speak on Northern Stories: radical suffragists and census evaders. She traces her suffrage research from 1974, when BBC TV's Shoulder to Shoulder prompted the question: who else besides the Pankhursts campaigned in the Manchester area? And what sources are available? She looks a working-class women ~ Selina Cooper, Ada Nield Chew, Hannah Mitchell; and ends on the 1911 suffragette census boycott & the questions it raised: who boycotted, who didn't and why? Also speaking are suffrage historian Elizabeth Crawford and Vicky Iglikowski from The National Archives, Kew. Full programme: will be available in March. Booking: Book here . Enquiries: vote100@parliament.uk Entrance: via Portcullis House, across road from Houses of Parliament. 10 Sunday ~ Suffragettes and Slaves in Halifax - walk, 11.30am. Perhaps you've seen Suffragette? Its heroine was a laundress and the film was set in London's East End. Now join us to visit the homes of Halifax's own nest of suffragettes! Walk their streets: along Queen's Road, down Pellon Lane ~ to the Mechanics' Institute (opposite the Town Hall) where Emmeline Pankhurst herself urged women ~ all still unenfranchised ~ to boycott the 1911 census. Meet Jill Liddington at the Standard of Freedom pub, Skircoat Green, HX3 0TE. Cost: £3. The walk is about 4 miles, via Saville Park, & ends at 3.30pm. Return to Skircoat Green using local bus service. June 2016 2.30 pm. Meet at St George's Square (in front of station) at Harold Wilson's statue. You've seen the film: now walk the suffragette walk. In 1906, the nation's eyes were trained on Huddersfield. Emmeline Pankhurst arrived to address packed meetings, and suffragettes took the town by storm. Visit the homes of local Votes for Women campaigners, walking in their footsteps. The walk ends back at the station about 4pm. www.discoverhuddersfield.com 2.15pm. Meet outside the station. Walk in the footsteps of Lavena Saltonstall, visiting the homes of Hebden Bridge suffragettes, the clothing factories where they worked, and ending in George Square where Emmeline Pankhurst addressed vast crowds in 1907. This 3-hour walk costs £3 and includes some hillside paths. www.calderdaleheritagewalks.org.uk October 2016 15 Saturday: Barnsley Festival of Labour History, 2pm Votes for Women - campaigning in Barnsley and beyond. Three-day festival (Friday 14 – Sunday 16) of talks, discussion, music, film. Venue: The Civic, Hanson Street, Barnsley S70 2HZ. Tickets: £10 for weekend. £5 for Friday evening concert. Booking: tickets from Barnsley Trades Council, 33 Western Street, Barnsley S70 2BT. Cheques payable to Barnsley Trades Council. Enquiries: 07594 857960. November 2016 22 Tuesday: Parliamentary Group on Archives and History: Annual Lecture - 6.30pm. What do women do in Archives? Reflecting on suffrage research across four decades. Venue: Committee Room 9, House of Commons, Westminster, London. Booking: jon.elliott@archives.org.uk after 15th October. Please note: this event is free, but the number of places is limited, and please allow time to pass through security. Enquiries: Jon Elliott, Head of Public Affairs Archives and Records Association (ARA). December 2016. 7 Wednesday - A week full of 'crowded hours of glorious life': Ada Nield Chew, Crewe factory girl and suffrage organizer. The Women and Girls of Crewe, the North of England and beyond 1830-2016. Further information: www.localyouthengagement.org Book events Autumn 2015 September 2015 11 Friday: Halifax Heritage Festival - 5.30 pm. On Thursday 30 March 1911, Mrs Pankhurst addressed a crowded audience in the Mechanics' Hall, Halifax. She urged women, all still unenfranchised, to boycott the government's household census. Suffragettes' defiant cry was: 'No Vote, No Census!' On Sunday 2 April, census night, some women did hide away in darkened buildings to evade the enumerator. Others decided to provide the Liberal government with accurate data for welfare reforms and complied with the census. Why? What were the arguments for and against boycotting? And how did suffragettes respond in Halifax and other West Riding towns? Halifax Town Hall. Everyone welcome: no need to book. Suffrage bookstall. Introduced by David Glover, Halifax Civic Trust. 19 Saturday: Walking with Women's Suffrage - 11am Bring packed lunch; walking boots or shoes advised. October 2015 2 Friday: Institute of Historical Research, London - 5pm. This seminar, presented jointly by Professor Pat Thane, Dr Jill Liddington and Elizabeth Crawford, explores the significance of the 1911 suffragette census boycott. On the one hand, the census was designed to provide accurate data to underpin much-needed health and welfare reforms. On the other, suffragette organizations urged women, all still unenfranchised, to boycott this census. They were asked either to evade the enumerator by hiding away in darkened houses; or to resist - defiantly inscribing 'No Vote No Census' onto their schedule. Many women did indeed boycott. Yet many decided to comply and handed over a perfectly accurate census schedule. Based upon Jill Liddington's Vanishing for the Vote, this seminar analyzes the 'battle for the census' arguments that raged across Edwardian England in spring 1911, and is illustrated by individual schedules ~ which can still be read in the head of family's own hand. Pat Thane, Research Professor in Contemporary British History, King's College, London. Dr Jill Liddington, Honorary Research Fellow, Centre for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies (CIGS), University of Leeds. Elizabeth Crawford, independent scholar specializing in suffrage history, is joint compiler of the Gazetteer of Campaigners in Vanishing for the Vote: suffrage, citizenship and the battle for the census (MUP 2014). Women's History seminar, Institute of Historical Research, University of London, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU. Everyone welcome. 9 Friday: Suffragette,
Manchester's charity film premiere is hosted by the Pankhurst Trust and will be introduced by Helen Pankhurst, granddaughter of Sylvia Pankhurst, Jill Liddington, and Pankhurst Centre CEO Gail Heath.
Odeon IMAX Cinema, Print Works, 27 Withy Grove, Manchester M4 2BS. UK release from mid-October onwards: check dates & details nearer time. November 2015 4 Wednesday: 4pm-5.30: Vanishing for the Vote: the suffragette census boycott in Leeds, the West Riding - and beyond. Leeds University, Sociology & Social Policy school seminar. About a year before the Suffragette film begins, Asquith's Liberal government conducted its regular household census - in April 1911. But this was the same government that still refused to give women the vote. So suffragette organizations urged women to boycott, proclaiming 'No Vote, No Census!' The most celebrated evader remains Emily Wilding Davison, hidden in a Houses of Parliament cupboard. And there were mass evasions of suffragettes in cities across the West Riding of Yorkshire. Yet other equally committed campaigners complied with the census, providing accurate information about their family. Why? What were the 'battle for the census' arguments that raged across Edwardian England in spring 1911? The census schedules can still be read in the head of family's own hand, so this seminar examines schedules from the Leeds area - and beyond. Leeds University, Social Sciences Building, For directions - www.leeds.ac.uk/campusmap
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December 2015 9 Wednesday: Vanishing for the Vote: the suffragette census boycott in the Calder Valley - and beyond - 7.30pm. Hebden Bridge Local History Society. By 1911, despite decades of suffrage campaigning, the Liberal government still refused to give women the vote. Yet this same government demanded households provide them with accurate census information. So suffragette organizations urged women to boycott, proclaiming 'No Vote, No Census!' Come census night, many suffragettes did evade. The most celebrated evader, Emily Wilding Davison, hid in a Houses of Parliament cupboard. Bradford suffragettes staged a mass evasion, well-reported in the local paper. In Halifax, a similar mass evasion undoubtedly included Hebden Bridge-born Lavena Saltonstall, now a weaver. Yet other equally committed local campaigners complied with the census. In Hebden Bridge, button-hole machinist Elizabeth Berkley living up Bankside, one-time active suffragette, decided to comply. Why? This talk, suggesting the wide diversity of suffrage campaigners in Calder Valley and beyond, will be illustrated by individual census schedules. Hebden Bridge Local History Society, Hebden Bridge Methodist Church Hall, Market Street. Copies of Vanishing for the Vote (MUP, 2014) and Rebel Girls (Virago, 2006) are available at the Bookcase, Market Street, Hebden Bridge.
Book events Summer 2015 May 2015 26 Tuesday onwards: June 2015 19 Friday: Festival of Ideas July 2015 11 Saturday: The SHP conference (Fri 10 – Sun 12) brings together original history research with GCSE curriculum expertise. The workshop will be led by Chris Culpin, writer and schools examiner, and Jill Liddington, author of Vanishing for the Vote: suffrage, citizenship and the battle for the census. Workshop: Sat 11th, 11.10-12.40 & 3.30-5pm. 22 Wednesday: Elizabeth Oakley, biographer of Laurence Housman (1865-1959), talks on his tireless campaigns for Peace. She traces his commitment through two World Wars to the cause in which he so passionately believed. Opened in 1945, the bookshop Housmans was so named in his honour. Copies of Vanishing for the Vote: suffrage, citizenship and the battle for the census and of Inseparable Siblings: a portrait of Clemence and Laurence Housman will be available. 30 Thursday: April 2015 25 Saturday: Hebden Bridge, walking with women's suffrage Walk in the footsteps of Lavena Saltonstall, visiting the homes of Hebden Bridge suffragettes, the fustian clothing factories where they worked and the town square where Emmeline Pankhurst addressed a vast crowd in January 1907. Meet Jill Liddington at 2.15 pm at Hebden Bridge station. The 3-hour local history walk includes some hillside footpaths which may still be muddy, so boots are advisable. Booking: no need to book - just turn up and pay on the day. Details: www.calderdaleheritagewalks.org.uk 30 Thursday Leeds, unveiling blue plaque for Mary Gawthorpe 11.30 am. A new blue plaque will be unveiled for suffragette organizer Mary Gawthorpe, born 1881 in Leeds, died in United States 1973. The plaque, at Mary's home in Bramley at 9 Warrel's Mount, is the initiative of the Leeds Civic Trust. Warrel's Mount is about 0.5 mile north of Bramley station. For further details of Leeds Civic Trust blue plaques, go to www.leedscivictrust.org.uk March 2015- Women's History Month. 7 Saturday: Carriageworks, Leeds Carriageworks Theatre is proud to host 13-16-year-old theatre-makers performing an original play, Rebel. They have developed the script based on the true stories of three local suffragettes told in Jill Liddington's Rebel Girls: their fight for the vote (Virago, 2006). Carriageworks Young Theatre-makers bring to life Dora Thewlis, Lilian Lenton and Leonora Cohen ~ who all rebelled and struggled in their fight for the vote. The talented young performers respond to these true stories and pose the question 'how far would you go?' in a memorable and moving ensemble performance. 'Deeds not words' was to be our permanent motto. Emmeline Pankhurst. Carriageworks, Electric Press, Millennium Square & Great George Street, Leeds LS2 3AD. Bookstall: copies of Rebel Girl will be on sale. January 2015 29 Thursday: The National Archives, Kew Vanishing for the Vote: diverse suffragettes boycott the 1911 census. This talk, part of the National Archives' Diversity Week, will be based on family census schedules held at TNA. Vanishing for the Vote tells the story of what happened on census night, 2 April 1911. Despite decades of campaigning, no woman had won the right to vote. So suffragettes urged women to boycott the census, proclaiming 'No Vote, No Census!' The talk will illustrate the wide diversity of suffrage campaigners, both those who complied with the census and those who daringly boycotted - like tax-resister Princess Sophia Duleep Singh of Hampton Court. TNA: Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU - 020 8876 3444. TNA bookshop for copies of Vanishing for the Vote
February 2015 18 Wednesday: Huddersfield Library Towns like Huddersfield supported both Votes for Women and campaigns for health reforms. The Liberal government refused women the vote - yet it demanded households provide them with census information. Come census night 1911, would West Riding women comply with the requirements - or boycott the census? Huddersfield Library, Bookstall: for copies of Vanishing for the Vote.
March 2015 - Women's History Month. 8 Sunday: International Women's Day. 12 Thursday: John Rylands Library, Manchester On census night 1911, Manchester boasted the largest mass evasion outside London. Why? And what was the role of the Men's League for Women's Suffrage Manchester branch ~ whose minute book is part of the John Rylands collection? John Ryland's Library (Historical Reading Room), University of Manchester, Deansgate M3 3EH ~ 0161 306 0561. This book talk is free and is part of Wonder Woman Radical Manchester Festival. Booking ring 0161 3060555 or email jrlevents@manchester.ac.uk. John Rylands Library events and tours Books: copies of Vanishing for the Vote (MUP, 2014) are available in the Library bookshop.
1 Thurs - 3 Sat - Pomona, CA, US - WAWH conference. 20 Tuesday - book event at the Pankhurst Centre, 60-62 Nelson Street, Manchester, M13 9WP. 24 Saturday - Doncaster Heritage Festival. 31 Saturday - Artists, writers and evaders: walking with Women's Suffrage in Kensington. March 2014 - Women's History Month. 24.2-27.4 People's History Museum, Manchester. The pop-up exhibition is now on display at the Pankhurst Centre, Manchester 7 Friday The Book Case, Hebden Bridge - launch. 8 Saturday International Women's Day. 11 Tuesday House of Commons, conversation - 6pm. 18 Tuesday - Lancashire Record Office, Bow Lane, Preston. 29 Saturday - Manchester Histories Festival 3pm - 3.45pm. Vanishing for the Vote: talk followed by book signing ~ & visit pop-up exhibition. People's History Museum. Manchester Histories Festival
2 Wednesday - anniversary of 1911 census. 12 Saturday 9.06 am and 13 Sunday at 9 pm. - BBC World Service - Manchester: a City United. Radio documentary, including the Votes for Women campaigns in Manchester. 20 Sunday - Easter. 27 Sunday - PHM exhibitionVanishing for the Vote ends. June 2014 4 Wednesday - Vanishing for the Vote: the suffragette census boycott across Manchester - and beyond. 6pm. 11 Wednesday. Housmans Bookshop. 14 Saturday - Walking with women's suffrage. July 2014 10 Thurs - Bromsgrove Society summer school: women's suffrage day - Bromsgrove School, Worcester Road, Bromsgrove -10am. 11 Friday - Laurence Housman 1903 walk to London. Book events autumn 2014 September 20 Saturday Hampstead suffrage walk - 2pm - 4.30. Some of the strongest support for 'No Vote, No Census' sprang from Hampstead Heath: here neighbouring resisters, Dr Elizabeth Knight and Jane Brailsford, 'refused to fill up Form'. At Belsize Park, Lady Strachey vehemently opposed the boycott. The walk visits campaigners' homes - and explores the arguments for & against the boycott voiced at Hampstead Town Hall. Organization: Friends of the Women's Library. 27 Saturday News from Nowhere bookshop Who organized Merseyside's mass evasions ~ and where? And how does Liverpool compare with, say, Manchester? News from Nowhere, 96 Bold St, Liverpool L1 4HY. October 4 Saturday Ilkley Literature Festival Come and find out about Ilkley's five 'very unshockable' Misses Thompson ~ and the mass census evasion nearby in Bradford. Ilkley Playhouse, Weston Road, LS29 8DW. 9 Thurs & 11 Sat Books Are My Bag - Booksellers' campaign for independent bookshops. On Saturday 11th, Books Are My Bag will put an author into every bookshop across the land. 16 Thursday Five Leaves Bookshop, Nottingham Suffragette Helen Watts' papers, dramatically surviving an Atlantic crossing, tell the vivid story of the Nottingham campaign. Yet, when other suffragettes evaded on census night 1911, why did Helen Watts decide to comply? Five Leaves Bookshop, 14a Long Row, Nottingham NG1 2DH - 0115 837 3097 - bookshop@fiveleaves.co.uk November 13 Thursday Portico Library, Manchester On census night 1911, Manchester had the largest suffragette mass evasion outside London. Why? And what were the arguments for and against boycotting? The Portico Library hosts a dramatic performance by Emmeline Pankhurst herself - and by her persistent heckler. 57 Mosley St, Manchester M2 3HY. Thursdays The Pankhurst Centre, Manchester - Vanishing for the Vote pop-up exhibition, curated by the People's History Museum, illustrating the census boycott across Manchester. Plus visit Mrs Pankhurst's parlour where the suffragette movement was founded in 1903. The museum is open on Thursdays 10am - 4pm; ring 0161 274 3625 or email
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A dramatic fictional story, set in England around 1912-3. The film stars Carey Mulligan - and Helena Bonham Carter, great-granddaughter of Asquith, the
anti-suffrage Prime Minister. Meryl Streep has a cameo role as Emmeline Pankhurst, and the film is shot - for the very first time - in the House of Commons itself, symbolic focus of Votes for Women campaigners.
